Second Time Around
by Queen Piper
Summary: AU; PiperLeo. What if Piper was mocked by Leo in Junior High, and then met up with him later; and gets revenge... or so she thinks. Based on the ABC Family movie: "This Time Around."
1. How It All Began

*A/N: Story idea was taken from the ABC Movie: "This Time Around."  
  
Fourteen year old Piper Halliwell woke with a start as her alarm clock buzzed to life. Reaching over she jabbed a button and the radio started blaring as Piper fell to the floor with a thump. Kicking her legs in the air, her sheets finally came loose from their tangled position.  
  
"You suck," she told her alarm clock, grumpily. Pushing back her snarly long brown hair, she got to her feet and grabbed her glasses.  
  
Placing them on her nose she headed over to the mirror and peered at her reflection. Same brown hair, same brown eyes, same ugly braces. Frowing, she knew she didn't expect a major change on her fourteenth birthday, but disappointment still took its toll.  
  
******  
  
As Piper got on the bus, she immediately spotted her best friend Clarie. Heading over to the seat Claire saved, she paused a moment and looked at the most popular couple; Leo Wyatt and Missy Campbell. They always look so perfect, she thought to herself sadly, before she kept her eyes on Leo, her crush since she discovered what boys were.  
  
"Can I help you, geek?" Missy sneered, getting a smirking response from the rest of the 'in crowd'.  
  
"N-no..." Piper stammered, shaking her head, as her face flushed a pink-red color. She walked over to her saved seat and flopped down onto the hard leather.  
  
"Happy Birthday," Claire said, with a hint of unsureness in her voice, having just witnessed her friend's mockery.  
  
"What's so happy about it?" Piper questioned with a sigh, her eyes once again drifting over to where Leo sat, his blue eyes alight and a grin on his face as he talked about something with one of his buddies.  
  
"You had that dream about him again, didn't you?" Claire asked with a soothing softness to her voice.  
  
Nodding, Piper asked, "How could you tell?"  
  
"You always look at him like that after you've had that dream," Claire replied.  
  
Looking back at Claire, Piper smiled wanly. She was lucky to have such a good and understanding friend.  
  
******  
  
Talking amicably, Piper walked to her locker with Claire in between classes. As she opened the muddy green steel door a note drifted to the ground. Bending over she picked it up and unfolded it.  
  
Dear Piper,  
On the bus today, for maybe the first time,  
I realized how beautiful you are. You're  
smart and talented, and I'd like to take you  
to the formal dance. Meet me in the cafeteria  
at lunch so I can ask you out properly.  
-Leo Wyatt  
  
Piper's eyes widened as she read the note for the second time. "Oh my God," was all she could manage to say. Moving into position behind Piper's shoulder, Claire read the note as well, and squealed with excitement.  
  
Later at lunch, Piper sat across from Claire, mentally preparing herself for her confrontation with the handsome Leo Wyatt.  
  
"I can do this," she told Claire with excitement in her voice.  
  
"Go for it."  
  
"I'm going," Piper replied as she stood from the table and look at Claire, who gave her a reassuring smile, before making her way to the popular table. Smiling widely, she gathered her courage and spoke her first words to the boy who held her heart for all of junior high, "Hi Leo."  
  
"Uh...hi?" He responded as the other kids at the table smirked loudly.  
  
Not letting it bother her, or perhaps not even realizing his tone, she said, "I got your note, and yes I will go to the dance with you."  
  
Laughing the loudest was Missy Campbell, sitting to Leo's left, who chimed in, "That note was a joke, Moron. Why would he got out with a dork like you, when he has me." The entire cafeteria, who was listening with interest, broke out into loud laughter.  
  
As reality dawned on her, Piper's smile crumbled and tears filled her eyes as she ran out of the cafeteria and away from the sounds of laughter, finding refuge in the girl's bathroom. Claire bolted after her.  
  
Sitting on one of the toilets in a stall, Piper wiped her eyes as she told Claire, "I'm going to catholic school."  
  
From the next stall came Claire's voice, with firm determination, "Then I am, too." 


	2. Ten Years Later

*A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed Chapter 1. Which I have to say is a set up for the rest of the story. I'm glad people are liking it.  
  
Piper walked into the gymnasium, her hair teased up big, her braces glinting in the dance lights. Across the room, her eyes lock with a pair of shining blue eyes as she smiled shyly. Equally as shy, the boy with the blue eyes, her crush, walked towards her, in his powder blue tuxedo and held out his hand to her.  
  
"May I have this dance?" he asked with a smile on his face.  
  
"What about Missy?" Piper asked in response, "won't she be mad?"  
  
Smiling wider, Leo responded, "Missy who?" Before taking her hand and guiding her onto the dance floor. He placed his arms around her waist as they swayed to the music.  
  
"I've been wanting to dance with you for so long..." Piper trailed off.  
  
"Shh..." he said, leaning in for a kiss.  
  
Suddenly Piper was brought back to reality by the sound of her alarm clock buzzing. Leaning over she jabbed the off button only to get tangled in her sheets and falling to the floor with a thump. Kicking her legs in the air loosened the sheets enough so they could drop from her legs. Getting to her knees she glared at the alarm clock.  
  
"You suck," she told it. Over ten years had passed, but her mornings were still the same. Pushing herself to her feet she stumbled down the hallway to the bathroom.  
  
After putting in her contact lenses, Piper peered at her reflection in the mirror. Squinting her eyes she scrutinized the face staring back at her. Much had changed, her teeth were now straight, and her complexion had cleared up, but she still had the same brown hair and brown eyes.  
  
Hearing a knock at her apartment door, she called out, "It's open!" Knowing it could only be on person this early in the morning.  
  
"I come bearing gifts," came the voice of Claire, always and forever there for Piper, she came into the bathroom carrying a paper cup of coffee from down the street and a garment bag. "I knew you'd have trouble finding something to wear, since... oh, you always do."  
  
"Oh, you rock," Piper said gratefully, accepting the coffee and clothes with a content smile on her face.  
  
"Not really, I ate your scone on the way," Claire grinned, "it was good."  
  
******  
  
Dressed in a knee length black skirt, and a pinstripe form fitting button down shirt, Piper walked out of her building. Her heels clicking on the lobby's linoleum floor, she waved to Joey, the security guard, and offered a smile.  
  
"Mornin' Miss Halliwell," he said with a small bow of his head.  
  
Walking out front of the building she made her way down the block towards the business district of San Francisco. Lucky for her, the restaurant where she worked was within walking distance of her building.  
  
Arriving at the restaurant which she managed, she pushed open the door with the word 'Quake' on it, in an earthquake type motif, and entered the main floor of the building. Hurrying across the empty floor, she made her way to the staff conference room, aware of the fact that she was late.  
  
"Sorry I'm late..." she said meekly as she entered the room. Eyes from all the staff members looked at her, which made her face flush a light pink.  
  
"Take a seat, Halliwell," Martin, the restaurant supervisor, said. "As I was saying, the owner of 'Quake' has decided to sell, and his buyer will be coming into the restaurant to meet you all this afternoon." Taking her seat, Piper focused her attention on what Martin was saying, and on a memo that was passed to her. "Apparently, he's a young investor, new to money, and chose to make this his endeavor. His name is... ah, here it is, Leo... White... no, Wyatt."  
  
Piper's brown eyes shot up from the memo she was scanning. "Uh... d-did you say... L-Leo Wyatt...?" she stammered.  
  
"Yes, I did, Halliwell. Do you have a problem with that?"  
  
"N-no...no... not at all, Martin," Piper replied, sinking into her seat, chewing on her lip, a mixture of confusion, fear and excitment rolling around inside her.  
  
After the meeting came to an end, Piper rushed to the bar where she picked up the black portable phone and quickly dialed in Claire's number.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"It's me," Piper replied in an exasperated voice.  
  
"Whoa, what's wrong?"  
  
"The new owner of 'Quake' is... is..."  
  
"Is who?"  
  
"Leo Wyatt."  
  
"When did you find out?"  
  
"This morning, what do I do?"  
  
"First of all," Claire said, in a rational tone, "take a deep breath, and second, we're having lunch."  
  
"Okay."  
  
******  
  
Seated across from Claire, Piper nervously fidgeted with the cloth napkin in her lap. After taking a sip from the wineglass filled with water she continued to fiddle with the napkin corner.  
  
"Would you relax?" Claire said, in a firm, yet comforting tone.  
  
"How can I? I have to see him for the first time since junior high, in about 2 hours," Piper bit her lip, mentally picturing the disaster that would ensue, "what if he recognizes me?"  
  
"Piper, you're not the same girl you once were... your hair is combed, you wear your contacts which, as I've commented before, show off your eyes, and you're no longer 'metal mouth'."  
  
"But..."  
  
"But nothing, you're going to wow him with your manager skills, and impress him with your wit and charm, and you're not gonna fidget with your skirt..." Claire said, kicking Piper lightly under the table, knowing she was doing just that.  
  
******  
  
"Here, let me get that for you," came a man's voice from directly behind Piper. Turning, she saw a handsome man, dressed in casual jeans and a t- shirt that fit him just right, his blue eyes met her's, and in that moment she knew this was Leo Wyatt.  
  
Pushing open the door, the man introduced himself, "Hi, I'm Leo Wyatt," the smile on his face flirty while genuine.  
  
"I know," Piper responded, after a beat realizing that that probably wasn't the best thing to say, "what I mean to say is... Martin has told us about you."  
  
"Oh, so you work here?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm the manager... uhm... Piper," she responded, extending her hand.  
  
"Nice to meet you," he said, taking her hand, "Piper, that's an interesting name... I like it."  
  
"Thank you," she said, a hint of confusion in her voice, didn't he recognize her as the dork from ten years ago? Maybe not. This could work.  
  
Following him further into 'Quake', Piper couldn't help but smile the tiniest bit about her good fortune.  
  
******  
  
Arriving back at her apartment, Piper pushed the 'check new messages' button on her phone as she dropped her keys onto the counter table. Walking through to the living room area, she removed her heels and proceeded to her bedroom, where she changed into her pajamas, a thin pair of sweats with a tanktop. Pressing the button on her stereo, she let the music infiltrate her mind, only to be interrupted by a knock at the door.  
  
Walking through the apartment to the door, she opened it, to find Claire there, another garment bag in hand, and a purse loaded with makeup.  
  
"Hey, what're you doing here?" Piper asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.  
  
"Leo is back in your life, what do you think I'm doing here?" Claire responded, walking into the apartment without another word. Taking a seat on the couch, she motioned Piper over after setting down the items she was carrying. "Tell me everything," she stated simply.  
  
Taking a seat on the couch, Piper explained to her friend that Leo didn't recognize her, and that he was actually acting interested, and flirting with her.  
  
"Excellent," Claire responded, a devilish glint in her eye.  
  
"Excellent?"  
  
"Yes, get revenge Piper, he doesn't know who you are... be the girl of his dreams, and then... dump him like he and his friends dumped all over your back in 8th grade. He made your life hell, he's the reason we went to catholic school!" Claire explained.  
  
"You're right..." Piper grinned, liking the idea, but at the same time, she couldn't admit to Claire that she still had dreams about this guy, "where do we begin?" 


	3. Plan A Failed

*AN: First I'd like to once again thank everyone who reviewed my story. And I'd also like to express my hurtness for the flame I got. As I've stated in the first chapter, and now in the summary; it's based on the movie "This Time Around." So, yes, it is going to be very similar.  
  
Piper walked out of her building, a mid-thigh skirt and a form fitting top revealing her figure as she wobbled down the block in high heels, higher than she was used to. Claire walked a few paces behind her, making sure she didn't tumble. As they headed down the block, Claire noticed a bunch of heads turn in their direction, and she knew it wasn't because of her jeans and t-shirt. Piper, focused on not falling, didn't notice any of them.  
  
"Claire, this isn't me," Piper complained.  
  
"I know that, but look around you, all sorts of guys are checking you out," Claire motioned around them, "Leo will definitely be interested, if he's any sort of guy."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Positive," Claire said with a firm nod, "now, what are these meetings today about?"  
  
"He wants to get to know the employees better, learn about them on a more personal level, we aren't supposed to call them 'meetings,' but he's talking to each one of us individually," Piper replied.  
  
"Perfect," Claire responded with that devilish glint in her eye. Arriving at 'Quake', Claire faced Piper and reached out to perk up her friend's breasts. "That's when you play it up, be the sexy vixen that's in there... somewhere."  
  
******  
  
Walking into the conference room, Piper made sure to do as Claire instructed and swayed her hips as she moved. Feeling completely ridiculous and not anything like herself, Piper looked at Leo, who stood by the door, and felt her knees going to jelly.  
  
"Hi... Piper, right?" Leo inquired, his amazing blue eyes focused on her, and only her. A half smile adorning his face, not cocky like most bosses, more of a humble confidence.  
  
Nodding, Piper replied, "Yeah... hi, I... whoa!" as she tripped on her heels. With lightning fast reflexes, Leo moved forward and caught her before she fell to the ground. Her face mere inches from his, it began to heat up.  
  
"Are you okay?" Leo asked, genuine concern radiating from him. Piper could only nod, her face a pink color with the heat of embarrassment. Physically she was fine, emotionally was another story.  
  
Aftering talking with Leo for a while, Piper felt more relaxed and decided to once again try and release her inner vixen. Glancing down at herself while Leo's back was turned, Piper quickly devised a plan. Adjusting her seating position, Piper stuck out her chest, accentuating the size of her breasts.  
  
When Leo turned back around, it was very obvious where his gaze was pointed. Smiling to herself, Piper stretched a bit, her chest still stuck out, only to have the top button pop off her form fitting button up shirt and shoot across the room, narrowly avoiding hitting Leo's head.  
  
"Whoa!" Leo nearly yelled, pushing the chair back as a reaction.  
  
"Oh my God!" Piper exclaimed with a mortified look on her face, before leaping up and running out of the room, not even looking back at the stunned look on her new boss's face.  
  
"Piper...wait.." Leo said, but it was too late, she was gone.  
  
Running out of the restaurant, Piper didn't even bother to stop to tell anyone she was leaving, nor did she pay attention to the numerous guys staring at the fact that her black lacey bra was very visible. Stopping for only a moment to take off her forsaken heels, Piper continued on until she was safely in her apartment with her back against the door.  
  
Crossing the room, Piper threw the heels on the florr before snatching up the phone and dialing Claire's number.  
  
"Claire Kinkaid."  
  
"It's me."  
  
"Hi Me," Claire responded, then stopped joking when Piper didn't laugh, "what happened?"  
  
"I was trying to do as you said, you know, release my inner vixen, but..." Piper trailed off.  
  
"But what?"  
  
"I almost poked his eye out with a projectile button."  
  
"Oh no!"  
  
"Oh yes!"  
  
"Maybe throwing yourself at him as a overtly sexy manager isn't the right approach," Claire offered.  
  
"Gee, you think?! Since I said that this morning!" Piper responded with evident sarcasm in her voice.  
  
"You can't give up."  
  
"Here's a thought, why don't I just... oh, I don't know, be myself?"  
  
"That is just crazy enough to work!" Claire exclaimed. Piper was glad they were on the phone rather than in person so Claire couldn't see her roll her eyes. 


End file.
